A Stray Wind
by LynnHeart
Summary: Neville found himself smiling as he said, "Luna, are you going to Hogsmead next weekend?" Takes place during the sixth book. Will continue to the seventh. Luna/Neville
1. A Stray Wind

**A/N: This is my first fanfic. Hope you like it! It takes place at the begining of Luna's fifth year at Hogwarts, so she is 15. Neville is 16 and in his sixth year. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters. **

A Stray Wind

Luna Lovegood stretched out on a picnic blanket reading the Quibbler in the grounds of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. A gentle breeze carried strands of her dirty blonde hair up into the summer air. The scratchy wool blanket beneath her rose slightly at the corner as the wind caught the material. Stocking-clad feet nestled into the blanket to keep it on the grass while her attention was kept with the magazine. Her eyes quickly drawn across the page. Her shoes no where to be found, for most of the time, Luna could not find them herself, often opting to go without footwear. Laughter floated to her keen ears as she continued to read the odd tabloid. Witches and Wizards around her enjoyed the afternoon in a similar manner, picnicking and lounging about on the grass.

Loony Lovegood. That's how she was known to the witches and wizards at Hogwarts. They disregarded her slightly eccentric taste in clothes, dreamy, far-off stare and strange beliefs for, well, loony. Truth be told, not many of them had taken the chance to get to know her as Ginny had. No, that wasn't true, Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived, seemed quite nice to Luna. His friends Ron and Hermione were pretty swell people, she supposed. And Neville. He seemed alright too.

There lay Luna, minding her own business as she read a particularly interesting article on the eating habits of Crumple-Horned Snorkacks. Her Spectrespecs were slightly skewed across the bridge of her nose as she brushed her tosseled hair out of her eyes to get a better look at the magazine.

A sudden gust of wind sent her wavy hair across her face, tickling her nose and cheeks. Pages of the Quibbler fluttered in the wind as the unseen force rapidly flipped the pages. Her Spectrespecs were ripped off her face and carried up towards the sun with a strong gust of wind, the sunlight catching the blue and red plastic of the lenses as it floated by. Surprised, Luna's grip on the Quibbler slackened, and it, too, was carried off along with golden autumn leaves from the ground. Luna shot up from her position on the ground, bounding after the Quibbler as onlookers laughed at her attempt to salvage the tabloid. Luna's butter beer cork necklace bobbed against her jumper as she ran after the bloody magazine. Her dirigible plum earrings clinked against their clasps, making a melodic _ding_ ring through her ears. The Quibbler dropped to the grass for a moment before the pages crinkled and flapped in the wind, somersaulting in dizzying circles. Only a few feet from the dog-eared issue, Luna swooped, arm outstretched, ready to snatch it from its nest of leaves. Suddenly it was lifted up again, the pages flailing in the blustery weather.

"Accio Quibbler", said a voice from behind Luna. The Magazine was ripped from the air current and traveled back through the blowing wind, like a salmon swimming upstream. Luna chided herself for not thinking of using the spell, remembering that her wand was still snugly resting behind her left ear. She turned, following the path of The Quibbler with her eyes to discover its retriever. "Luna. I guess this is yours", came the voice of Neville Longbottom.

Luna's eyes snapped to the wizard clasping The Quibbler. She briefly wondered if he said that because she was the only one at the school who read the magazine. It's true that Luna rarely cared what people thought of her, and she surprised herself when such a thought popped into her mind. Not only did Luna support the theories and writings of the Quibbler (after all, the article on Sirius Black made it so obvious that the acclaimed murderer was actually Stubby Boardman), but she also found it to be the only source of information on Moon Frogs, Heliopaths and Wrackspurts. The fact that her father was the editor may have also been a contributing factor to her interest in the magazine. As Luna shared the same interests and beliefs as Xenophilius, The Quibbler became something for the two to bond over.

And so Luna didn't mind the stares she got from other students. She was simply being herself the only way she knew how. Part of her suspected that Neville was a kindred spirit in that respect. Though Luna had only been introduced to Neville last year, she knew he had been mocked by his peers for his awkwardness and love of Herbology. Yet that hadn't stopped him from advancing in his studies of the subject and earning respect from Professor Sprout.

True, the two had been part of the battle at the Ministry of Magic at the end of her fourth year, so Luna knew at least he was a capable wizard. "Yes", Luna huffed in response, slightly out of breath. "Thank you. That's very kind of you", she said honestly. Neville handed back her copy of The Quibbler.

"It's nice to see you again, Luna", he said with a solemn look. Luna sensed that he was thinking of their time together at The Ministry, when they were surrounded by death eaters and the situation seemed most dire. What Luna remembered most about that night were the voices, whispering behind the veil that took Sirius. It was as if people stood just beyond the archway. If you pulled it aside, would you catch a glimpse of them? But no, Sirius had fallen through, never to be seen again.

"It's very nice to see you too, Neville. Did you have a good summer?" Luna asked, genuinely interested in his response. She felt as if their adventures together at The Ministry warranted that they might be friends. And Luna didn't have many of those.

"Spent most of it with my Gran", Neville replied, shrugging his shoulders. Luna suspected that mean his summer hadn't been as exciting as hers. Neville spared her the boring details of his summer by asking her the same question.

"I think it was pretty successful", Luna answered seriously, "My father and I spent some time in Sweden looking for Crumple-Horned Snorkacks."

"And did you find any?" Neville seemed genuinely interested. Excitedly, Luna began to explain the migrating patterns of the Crumple-Horned Snorkack, and the tracking methods her father and her used to observe them across the Country. Luna noticed how Neville's attention stayed with her and her throughout her story, how his eyes stayed locked with hers. She noticed for the first time that his eyes were hazel. Warm… and friendly, she decided.

"We never did actually see any, of course. They're very sly creatures. And shy too…" Luna trailed off.

Neville thoroughly enjoyed Luna's story of how she traveled across Sweden in search of this mythical creature. Though he wasn't entirely convinced of their existence, he was open minded to the idea of them. Especially because he knew Luna had received a lot of scorn from other students for her beliefs in certain magical creatures. Neville had decided last year that he quite respected Luna for her allegiance to Harry and her actions in The Ministry last school year. He felt bad that he had dismissed her in the halls before they were officially introduced. Neville wasn't sure what made him say the next words he said. It could have been guilt for once thinking her strange or curiosity for the girl he found he wanted to get to know better. Whatever it was, Neville found himself smiling as he said them. "Luna, are you going to Hogsmead next weekend?"

**A/N: Please review and let me know what you think!**


	2. Fanged Geraniums

**A/N: Okay, I guess it's officially not a oneshot. I couldn't very well leave Luna and Neville without their "get together" at Hogsmeade. It's been a while since I read the books, and I don't have any of them with me to reference as I am not living at home right now. Harry Potter Wiki has been a great help though! Next chapter will probably be much longer… hopefully.**

**Chapter 2**

**Fanged Geraniums**

Neville sat in Snape's Defense Against the Dark Arts class, his eyes drifting shut, as the professor paced the front of the silent classroom. The scratching of quills across parchment had provided some pleasant white noise to lull Neville into a light sleep. Neville had thought he was safe from the tortures of gloomy Professor Snape. However, since Slughorn had come to Hogwarts to teach Potions, Snape had willingly given away his seat as Potions Master for a chance to teach Defense Against The Dark Arts. Thus, began a living hell.

Not that Neville minded learning to defend himself against the Dark Arts. After all, his involvement in Dumbledore's Army had really helped Neville in performing defensive spells. Without the DA, he might not have made it through fifth year.

And then there was the battle at the Ministry. That experience had given Neville a real taste of the Dark Arts. That taste was very real. And very dangerous.

What did affect his interest in the subject, though, was Snape's constant droning voice going on about all things defensive in accordance with the Dark Arts.

Neville had a hard time sleeping the night before. Although he was trying hard not to over think the fact that he was going to Hogsmeade with Luna tomorrow, it simply wasn't working. Never before had Neville been so forward. Though at the time, he had not meant for the invitation to seem like a date. He didn't fancy Luna. Honestly, he didn't. She was a kind girl, a bit strange, yes, but he suspected they could be good friends.

But as he lay in his bed, he couldn't help but wonder if she expected their meeting… get together… outing… to be a date. It wasn't. Certainly not. That was quite unknown territory for Neville. Awkward as he was, he wasn't sure he was ready to venture into the murky waters of dating.

Eventually, yes. Neville did want to have a wife and a family at some point in his life. He sort of expected it to just happen. Some great girl would come along and it wouldn't matter that he was awkward, or that he had absolutely no experience talking to girls. When the time was right, Neville expected that everything would fall into place.

"_Mister Longbottom_", Snape's nasally voice startled Neville out of his slumber and his head shot up to see the dreary professor standing in front of his desk. "The next time you decided to fall asleep in class you will find yourself in _detention_", Snape paused for effect, "I believe Professor Slughorn has cauldrons that need to be cleaned of Bundimun Secretion*".

"Yes, professor", Neville said, sitting up taller. However much he hated Snape, he hated his detentions more.

Luna lingered in the astronomy tower long after classes had ended for the day. She found it was a good place to think when she had something on her mind. From the view at the window seat where she was perched, Luna could see the expanse of the Hogwarts grounds. Her eyes traveled a path across the acres of greenery. Many times had she fallen asleep on those grasses, possibly more than she slept in her four-poster bed in the Ravenclaw dormitories.

At the moment, Luna was considering her encounter with Neville on the grounds a week prior. His invitation had both surprised and pleased her.

It didn't happen often that Luna was invited to something. Lately that had been changing though. Since her involvement with the DA last year, Luna believed she had become friends with Harry. Or he made it seem as if they were friends by addressing her in the hallways. He was polite and quite agreeable, Luna thought. Being friends with The Chosen One, it seemed, had its benefits.

At any rate, Neville's invitation was greatly appreciated. Luna suspected her and Neville would have lots to talk about between Crumple-Horned Snorkacks and Nargles. Briefly Luna wondered if Neville was interested in those sorts of things. He had seemed to enjoy her story the other week… or had she misread that look in his eyes? If she had, it could be that Neville would not enjoy talking about the many qualities of Nargles. And that would be quite a problem. She wondered what a boy like Neville _would_ like to talk about.

Herbology! _Of course_, Luna thought, internally chiding herself. Luna's repertoire of plants was limited compared to her extensive knowledge of magical creatures. Herbology was a mandatory course for the first five years at Hogwarts. Still, Luna worried her knowledge in this area was lacking as she had taken to day dreaming in Professor Sprout's class as of late. She supposed a trip to the library was in order.

Luna sighed as she stretched out across the seat, leaning back against the stone wall of the small alcove. The brick was cold and hard against her back. Her book bag was propped against a stool, the flap open and sagging against the stool leg as her books peeked out from inside. Reaching down, she pulled out _Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them_, the required text for her Care of Magical Creatures class. Her fingers expertly flipped to the page on Fire Crabs. Her essay wasn't due until next week, but Luna found them so interesting. And frankly, she would rather finish her Care of Magical Ceatures homework before she set to work on her paper for Snape…

Later that evening, Luna nestled into a chair by the fire in the Ravenclaw common room. She was once again reading the Quibbler, though without her Spectrespecs. She hadn't been able to find another pair since hers had flown away the other day. The same day Neville had listened to her go on and on about Crumple-Horned Snorkacks.

Luna regretfully noticed how many times her thoughts seemed to lead her back to the boy with the hazel eyes. It dawned on her that perhaps she thought of him so often was because that kind of interaction had never happened to Luna before. She had talked. And he had listened. He didn't laugh at her, or mocked her. Others, like Harry, had tolerated her interest in things like Blibbering Humdingers. But she sensed that they weren't truly listening to her. She has a strange feeling in her stomach when she finally realized the reason her thoughts had lingered on Neville. It was a good feeling, she decided.

Yawning, Luna climbed the stairs to the dormitories. She needed to be well rested for Hogsmeade tomorrow. Dropping The Quibbler onto the stack of herbology books she had taken out from the library, Luna wondered if she had read enough to carry on a conversation with Neville. Perhaps she should read a bit more on the Fanged Geranium. Neville had probably had some exposure to that plant, being a year ahead of Luna in his studies. She picked up her copy of _Flesh Eating Trees Of The World_ and fell back across the comforter, her mind already soaking up information on various dangerous plants.

**A/N:**

*From Harry Potter Wiki: "The **Bundimun Secretion** or **Bundimun Ooze** is a magical substance, produced by the Bundimun, known to be an extremely acid substance that could rot a building's structure. When diluted, the secretions of the Bundimun are known to be used in some magical cleaning products"

**Hogsmeade next chapter! Let me know what you think by reviewing please!**


	3. Hogsmeade

**Hey there! Here it is, the Hogsmeade chapter! I made it especially long too! I'm basically writing this story as I think of it and I have no idea where it's going from here. I've got some ideas for future chapters though, so I'm going to stick with it! My thanks to my fabulous editors: YourPrincess and HermioneGrangerisME. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

**Chapter 3**

**Hogsmeade**

Sparkling spheres of dew covered the grounds on the morning of the scheduled trip to Hogsmeade. Luna loved to walk the grounds in the early hours of the morning. When the school had yet to wake up and students were still asleep in their beds. That was the time Luna liked best. The silence was peaceful to her. Rays of sunlight peeked through a stone arch and illuminated her blonde head as Luna's feet began to move faster. Her sneakers glided across the slippery grass as she made her way to the courtyard.

Luna thoroughly enjoyed visits to Hogsmeade. One of her favourite shops was Tomes and Scrolls. It was the only book store in Hogsmeade. Which was fine with Luna because they had a great selection of specialty books. She had spent hours in that shop, perusing the shelves, her fingers trailing across the spines. She usually arrived back home with her trunk full of new books from the book shop. They ended up in haphazard piles around her bedroom and occasionally stacked on the stairs, in the kitchen and in the living room.

In fact, Luna's corner in the Ravenclaw dormitories was also scattered with books. She had tripped over one of them in her haste to get out the door in time. The herbology books she had borrowed from the library were spread out on her bed as she had fallen asleep reading them the night before.

Luna jogged the rest of way to the meeting place for all students going to Hogsmeade. The courtyard was crowded and Luna had to push through students to find Neville.

Neville waited in the courtyard nervously. Wait. Nervous? He had no reason to be nervous, he told himself. Yet those butterflies persisted as they flitted around in his stomach. He wondered if Luna would actually show up. He hadn't spoken to her since that afternoon on the grounds. They didn't have any classes together since Luna was a year younger than Neville. He wondered if she kept to the Ravenclaw tower, or if she spent her time elsewhere.

As crowds of students started to gather in the courtyard, Neville became more anxious. He spotted Harry, Ron and Hermione and waved to them. The threesome started to move in his direction.

"Hello Neville", said Hermione politely.

"You want to join us at the three broomsticks?" Harry asked. The three had noticed Neville standing alone and came to invite him for a butterbeer.

"Actually I'm waiting for someone", Neville replied awkwardly as his cheeks heated. He silently hoped they wouldn't broach the subject.

"Yeah? Who?" asked Ron rather loudly. Neville internally cursed Ron.

He cleared his throat and said somewhat quietly, "Luna."

"What was that?" Ron asked quite obnoxiously.

"_Luna_", Neville said more clearly, exasperated with the red-headed bloke. Hermione elbowed Ron in the ribs, giving him a glare.

"I guess we'll see you around then!" Hermione said cheerfully and grinned. She looped her arms around her companions and steered them away from Neville.

Over his shoulder, Harry called, "See you Neville!" Neville watched them walk away swiftly and noticed Hermione lean toward Ron to tell him something.

"Neville! Fancy _Luna_?" Ron practically shouted. Hermione shushed him and gave him a smack for good measure. Neville threw his hands up in irritation. Ron and his big mouth. No one seemed to notice his outburst, though, thankfully. And Neville certainly did _not_ fancy Luna.

Speaking of Luna, he believed he spotted her blonde head bobbing in the sea of students. He waved to get her attention at the same time that she turned her head in his direction. A grin spread across her face as she made her way over to Neville. "Good morning, Neville", Luna greeted him. Neville couldn't help it. His face flushed immediately.

"G-Good morning, Luna", Neville stuttered and internally kicked himself. How was it that he was able to have a conversation with her last week without his palms getting sweaty and his face turning as red as a tomato? If he could do it then, he could do it now. He calmed down slightly. It was just a friendly meeting of two friends. Without noticing it, Neville had begun to think of Luna as a friend. She did have a friendly face. Open, and slightly innocent. But it was more than that.

"Did you sleep well?" Luna asked suddenly.

"Uh… er, yes. I guess I did." Neville replied. They stood staring at each other for a few seconds. Luna's radish earrings twinkled in the breeze. Neville finally realized he was being rude. "Oh! Right… and, did _you_ sleep well?" He asked in return.

Luna gave a small laugh before saying, "Yes, quite well."

"Right… well, that's good." Their conversation was interrupted as Professor McGonagall asked for everyone's attention. Neville was relieved as he turned his attention to the Transfiguration Professor.

Luna and Neville ambled the streets of Hogsmeade in comfortable silence. Luna concentrated on the crunch of gravel under her shoes as they walked. Witches and Wizards of Hogwarts crowded the lane, excited for the first Hogsmeade trip of the school year. Seeing as they weren't walking to anywhere in particular, Neville spoke up, "Is there a shop you wanted to visit?"

Luna looked startled for a moment. It appeared as if he had interrupted her thoughts. "I quite like Tomes and Scrolls", Luna replied looking in the direction of her favourite shop. "Would you like to stop in Honeydukes first?"

"Sure," said Neville, relieved that they now had a destination.

Honeydukes was crowded when they entered, the bell above the door chiming at their arrival. Luna squeezed between the shop patrons, making her way to the back of the shop. Neville was close behind her. The colourful shop was an assault on the senses. Not only was it bright (apparently candy at Honeydukes came only in the loudest of colours), but the sweet smell was quite over powering.

Luna picked up a tin of Sugared Butterfly Wings, her favourite treat at Honeydukes. "Neville!" she called over her shoulder, "Have you tried these?"

"Uh, no, I don't think I have", he answered, getting a look at the tin.

"They're my favourite. What's yours?" she asked.

Neville looked around the shop for a few moments before striding over to a display. "Salt Water Taffy", Neville said shrugging.

"Great", Luna said, and idea forming in her mind. "Lets get... two of those, a few of these…" she trailed off as she picked up two boxes as well as a couple Sugar Quills and a box of Fudge Flies. "Right. That should be enough."

"For what?" Neville asked, a bit confused. But Luna was already on her way to the checkout. Neville caught up with her, putting a hand on her shoulder. She turned her head to look back at him. "I'll get that", he said pulling out his wallet."

Luna stretched out her cramped legs as she reached for another Sugar Quill. The book that had been sitting in her lap plopped the floor, the pages collapsing together. The two had left Honeydukes and now sat on the floor between two shelves of books in Tomes and Scrolls. They were on the third floor of the shop. Hardly anyone came up here. Luna crossed her legs again, picking up the book. Books were leaning in heaping piles around them. Luna took in a deep breath; the smell of parchment invaded her nose. It was a good smell. One that sparked many happy memories for her.

Neville was content. There was no stress or anxiety when he was with Luna. Thinking back, he had no idea why he was so nervous for today. She was easy to be around. When there was silence between them, instead of being awkward, it was comfortable.

They had been looking through books for about an hour already, occasionally exchanging words. Neville noticed how passionate Luna was about books. She had practically dragged him down the aisles, pulling books from shelves and piling them in his arms. There was a stack to his right of books which were "Luna's Recommended Reading". The stack on his left she had called "Books That Must Be Read No Matter What". Finally a slightly smaller pile next to that which she said were "Books I Think You Might Like".

Neville chuckled remembering Luna's eyes light up as she tried to explain why these books were so great. Obviously she couldn't do so with words and just ended up pushing a pile of them against his chest. "Just trust me", she had said.

Now as they sat in the 'Fiction U-Z' section, Neville realized he quite liked Luna's company. They were very much alike, he observed. He picked up a book from "Luna's Recommended Reading" called _Unlikely Magical Beasts_. Flipping through it, he found sketches of strange creatures he'd never heard of. Dabberblimps and Aquavirius Maggots were among them. Turning the book around, he read the back cover.

_From Heliopaths to Wrackspurts, this anthology delves deep into the mysterious creatures of the Wizarding world. While sceptics argue over the existence of these creatures, Unlikely Magical Beasts will provide you with the facts. Details on Moon Frogs and the long controversial Crumple-Horned Snorkacks!_

Neville smiled when he finished. Yes, they certainly were unlikely. But he would give the book a try, since it seemed important to Luna. She had asked him what his favourite books were. He had admitted to not reading much other than book on herbology. Yet as a child, he had adored detective novels. They had searched the aisles and came up with a stack of books Neville recommended. She was reading one now as she sat across from him. Her blonde hair fell over shoulder and was pushed behind her right ear. Neville stared at her radish earring as it swayed against her ear lobe. Her taste in jewellery was _interesting_, but Neville admired her indifference to popular culture.

As another hour passed, Luna became restless. She was enjoying herself, spending the afternoon in Tomes and Scrolls. Neville turned out to be splendid company. He didn't seem over whelmed when she started tossing books at him earlier. In fact, he seemed to take it quite well. That was good. She believed this type of bonding they were doing on the third floor of Tomes and Scrolls officially made them friends. At least it did in Luna's books (no pun intended) as she had never done this type of thing with anyone else before. Well, no one outside her immediate family at least.

Deciding that they had had enough literature for one day, Luna stood and stretched. Bringing her arms above her head, she stretched her spine like a cat waking up after an afternoon nap. Neville looked up at her in question. "I think I'd like to eat something other than candy now", she said holding out a hand to him. He clasped his hand in her as she pulled him up.

"Right", he said smiling, "The Three Broomsticks?"

A quarter of an hour later, Luna and Neville were seated at The Three Broomsticks. Two bags filled with books occupied the empty chair at the table. Luna was rather satisfied with their success at Tomes and Scrolls. Neville had been a good sport about her spontaneous idea.

Luna closed the menu she had been looking at, crossing her hands on the table. "I had fun today", she told Neville. He looked up at her, hazel meeting grey.

"I did too", he responded honestly. "You know, before today I hadn't even been inside Tomes and Scrolls."

"I go there every time we visit Hogsmeade. It's a great place to finds books you can't find anywhere else." The waitress came then and the two ordered their lunch with two butterbeers. The waitress flitted away with their order and the two were left in silence. They stared at each other awkwardly for a few seconds before Luna chirped up. "Have you ever handled a Fanged Geranium?" She couldn't think of anything else to say and she didn't want all of that acquired herbology knowledge to go to waste. Besides, she was actually interested in his answer. Neville looked a little surprised but she could see that she caught his interest.

Leaning closer to her across the table he said, "Well, Professor Sprout has some rare plants in her green house. I'm not exactly supposed to tell anyone this, but she lets me handle all kinds of plants a sixth year shouldn't be exposed to yet. It's brilliant!" Neville's face lit up when he talked about herbology. Luna found it endearing. "As for the Fanged Geranium, well… yes. I have handled one. They require a lot of precaution. Nasty things, they are. Real temperamental and bloody painful when they bite." He had a glint in his eye when he said this and Luna wondered if he had ever been bitten.

Luna had sparked Neville's interest and it seemed he couldn't stop talking about all the amazing plants Professor Sprout kept in the greenhouses. Luna enjoyed listening to him speak in such an excited manner. She had never seen him this way and she was delighted that she had been able to chase away his shyness.

"The greenhouses are a great place to just spend some time when you want to be away from everything else. I guess I spend a lot of time there…" Neville realized he had been talking for a long time, Luna nodding along, laughing occasionally.

"I'll remember that next time I want to get away", she said truthfully. Neville smiled at her. She felt like she hadn't given Herbology enough of a chance. Seeing Neville talk about it so passionately, she felt like she could learn to like the class more.

They had finished eating by now, Luna's butterbeer almost empty. Neville took a last gulp to finish his off. "We should probably start heading back. It's almost time to be back at Hogwarts", he noted. Luna sighed and pushed her chair out. She was a little disappointed that their time in Hogsmeade had to end. "Thanks Luna, by the way, for coming with me", Neville said suddenly.

Luna stopped what she was doing and looked at Neville. She sensed his sincerity by the look in his eyes. "It was my pleasure, of course", Luna said, a grin spreading across her lips.

Students from Hogsmeade were back at Hogwarts in time for dinner in the great hall. Luna was coming back from the Ravenclaw dormitories after dropping off the books she purchased from Tomes and Scrolls. She was excited to read the books Neville picked out for her, especially because she had never read anything like them before. Some of them were Muggle novels that he said he had read as a boy. He said his Gran had purchased them from Muggle book shops and had encouraged him to read them. It was strange luck that they were found at Tomes and Scrolls, yet Luna had never been disappointed in their selection before.

As she entered the Great Hall, she spied the Gryffindor table. She caught sight of the hazel-eyed boy she was looking for. Walking up to him she decided she might as well be frank. She wanted to spend more time with him. All she had to do was ask. "Hello Neville, Harry", she said nodding at the boys as she took a seat on the bench beside Neville. He looked a little startled to see her, but quickly composed himself.

"Hello Luna. How are you?" Harry asked. They hadn't had a proper conversation lately and he felt bad for not seeking her out to ask about her summer.

"Oh I'm great. I just came by to ask you something", she said, turning to look at Neville. "Are you busy the day after tomorrow?"

Neville thought for a moment. "I don't think so. Why?"

"Would you mind helping me with something? I'm afraid I can't do it alone."

"Yes, but what—", Neville started

"Great! Thanks so much Neville, I'll come find you then." At that she hopped up from the table and headed to join Ravenclaw.

"Right, well…", Harry trailed off. "That was rather… strange."

"That was Luna", Ron said approaching the table having heard the conversation. "What did you expect?" Neville was still staring after her, trying to figure out what just happened. He smiled to himself, realizing it didn't really matter, because the day after tomorrow he would be spending more time with Luna Lovegood.

**A/N: Hold your Hippogriffs! I'll be starting to write the next chapter as soon as I can! Thank you for all the Reviews so far, keep em coming. They are fabulous inspiration to me!**


	4. Auras

**Welcome, Muggles! To chapter FOUR! *props if you got the LOTR allusion…but you probably didn't unless you're a die hard fan… like me.* I also love HARRY POTTER! Go figure… **

**Well, I'm sorry, I had planned to update a whole week sooner. But, as it so often happens, life got in the way… **

**Some notes about this chapter:**

**-****If you don't know who Peeves is (AKA if you have not read the books. [because no sane person forgets Peeves!]) Google him! He's the coolest Poltergeist you'll ever meet! Er, read about…**

**-I'm going on the assumption that you can take things out of the Room of Requirement. Having said that, please let me know if you know if that's possible****... or not possible.**

**Also, thank you to my editors, YourPrincess and HermioneGrangerisME. **

**THANK YOU REVIEWERS! I really appreciate it!**

**Happy Reading!**

**Chapter 4**

**Auras**

Neville awoke the next morning to light shining through the window in the Gryffindor Tower. He lay in his four-poster bed for a few minutes, savouring the silence of the morning. Dust motes drifted in shafts of sunlight hitting his blanket. Today was Sunday, the day after the Hogsmeade trip. He had no real plans for the day, except to finish homework for Monday's classes.

He really hated Mondays. Defense Against the Dark Arts was his first class… with Snape. Then he remembered he had something to look forward to on Monday. Luna said she needed his help. With what, he had no idea. Maybe she needed help with Herbology homework. He had talked her ear off about the subject yesterday. Perhaps he shouldn't have talked so much about Herbology. Though, she had brought up the subject by mentioning Fanged Geraniums…

Neville stopped himself before he began to analyze their entire time at Hogsmeade. He'd had fun, and he wanted to leave it at that. Besides, what did it matter? Obviously Luna didn't mind that he was a bit of a nerd. After all, she was… strange. Wait. Stop. He couldn't very well call her strange without acknowledging that he was as well. They were in the same boat after all. Both were ostracized for their interests.

Neville internally kicked himself. He was thinking too much about his relationship with Luna lately. It seemed that whenever his mind strayed, a certain Ravenclaw drifted into his head. Well he had no time to mull over her today. He hadn't even started his homework for Transfiguration.

Luna walked the silent corridors of Hogwarts after dinner that night. She had a bit of a problem. She had told Neville she needed his help with something. _Something_. She wished she knew what that something was. Thinking back to the day before, blurting out the first thing that came to her mind had probably been a bad idea. She had no idea what she would tell Neville. This was quite an awkward position she was in.

Was that a Nargle she spotted? Stopping in her tracks, she stood very still and squinted her eyes. Bullocks! How she wished she had her spectrespecs!

"Bloody hell," Neville cursed under his breath as he left Defense Against the Dark Arts. Having fallen asleep again in Snape's class, he had won himself detention with his least favourite professor. Scheduled for tonight. Brilliant, he thought sarcastically. The night he was supposed to meet Luna. Instead he'd probably be knee deep in whatever concoction Slughorn needed cleaned from the cauldrons in the Potions classroom. That was if Snape held to his word. Neville had a feeling he would. He trudged through the corridors to his next class. Not even Herbology with Sprout could lift his foul mood.

He hoped he might be able to find Luna so he could let her know he wouldn't be able to help her with… whatever she needed help with. Neville sighed heavily. He really wished he had just gone to bed early like he had planned. Then he wouldn't be in this mess. Instead he had stayed up into the late hours of the night reading. In fact, he had been reading a book Luna had recommended. Come to think of it, Neville was pretty sure he had picked it off of the "Books You Must Read No Matter What" pile. He'd just have to make it up to Luna some other time.

The day passed much too quickly for Neville. He was dreading his detention that evening. To top off his bad luck, he hadn't even glimpsed Luna all day. He had expected to see her at lunch and had looked for her at the Ravenclaw table. She hadn't been there. An idea came to him in his last class of the day. He'd get a message to Luna. Hopefully she wouldn't think he was avoiding her.

Luna was frantically scanning the spines of books inside the library. She had been searching for a particular text. Trelawney had said some rubbish to her today. She had said that Luna's aura "looked particularly lavender." Lavender? What was that supposed to mean? Luna had to find out. She would have asked the former Divination professor but she had flitted away so fast and Luna had already been late for her next class. Firenze now taught Divination at Hogwarts. Luna found the centaur to be mesmerizing. He was a very wise man. Er, centaur. But sometimes Luna missed Trelawney's tea leaves and dream analysis.

Still, she found Trelawney's statement jarring. And so she had spent her lunch period in the library and now continued her search after her classes were over. It was frustrating how little the school library carried about auras. Honestly, how was Luna ever going to discover what the colour lavender meant in accordance to auras? She let out a huff of exasperation.

"Luna?" someone called her name from the end of the book shelf. Luna looked up to see Harry standing there.

"Oh, hello Harry," she said lightly. She went back to scanning titles.

"Neville asked me to tell you that he won't be able to get together tonight. He's got detention with Snape." Luna's head snapped up at the mention of Neville. She had completely forgotten that she was supposed to meet him tonight. Between Nargles and auras, her mind had been so distracted.

"Oh. Thanks for telling me Harry," she said and smiled at him.

"Were you searching for something in particular?" Harry asked, nodding towards the bookshelf.

"Yes, actually," Luna looked up at Harry again. "Have you any idea what it means to have a lavender aura?"

"Uh…no. Sorry, Luna."

"That's alright. I suppose I'll keep looking," she said and sighed. Disappointment. That was definitely what she was feeling at the moment. And not because she couldn't find a single book on auras.

"AHA," Luna squealed as she finally found the book she was looking for. The text had been pushed under the bookshelf. Luna found it when, in frustrated exhaustion, she had flopped on the floor, ready to give up. She ran her hand over the dusty cover to get a better look at the title. _Identifying Auras._ This looked promising. Since it was the first book she had come across having anything to do with auras, she hoped it had what she needed. She opened the tattered pages to the table of contents. Tucking her hair behind her ear, she flipped though the brittle pages. The musty smell of the book invaded her nose. "Lavender…Lavender…" she spoke aloud as her hand traced the words.

_A Witch or Wizard with a Lavender aura may be considered to be __imaginative and intuitive. Lavender auras often mean the person may possess the following qualities: prone to visionary thoughts, daydreams and sensitive in personality. _

Luna thought about this for a while. Yes, she supposed this was a correct analysis of her personality. It felt strange to read it in a book. To know that things such as temperaments and moods could be calculated and recorded, analyzed. Still lost in thought, Luna closed the book softly and slipped it into her satchel. It wasn't as if anyone else would be searching for it anytime soon. She wanted to read more, learn more.

Luna pulled out _Identifying Aura's_ as she strolled through the deserted corridors. It was late, almost time for her to be back in Ravenclaw tower. She opened the old book and read as she walked. She failed to notice exactly which corridor in which she was walking until she heard something. It was quiet, but it made Luna stop as the sound of stone creaking reached her ears. Then movement, out of the corner of her eye. Luna shuffled forward, in awe. She hadn't been back to this very corridor since the disbanding of the DA by Dolores Umbridge. And though the Room of Requirement was forever broken, still it appeared when she passed. Perhaps it recognized her mind. She hadn't been looking for it exactly. Though she _had_ longed to see the practice room the DA had used last year, a place where she had made some of her first friends. There was sadness for Luna when she thought of how that place was destroyed. What would the Room of Requirement look like now that it's enchantments were gone?

Luna stepped forward, curious, and the doors opened for her. Déjà vu. It was like she was returning to the family she had found with the DA. She stepped through the doors and they closed behind her, grating across the stone floor. The room she entered was not at all the way she remembered it. Though, she hadn't expected it to be recognizable.

A treasure trove. That was the first thought that came to her mind. Piles, heaps of objects towered and teetered from above. She began to walk through the disorganization. Really, it was a wonderful sight. So many _things_. All in one space. It was overwhelming and exciting at the same time. The very room must contain any object anyone had ever needed from the Room of Requirement, Luna realized. If she looked hard enough, she might be able to find things that had been in the room when the DA used it. Like the pillows they sat on, or the message board they used.

How many secrets rested here? How many mysteries were lost in the Room of Requirement? How many of these objects had never left this amazing room? She bet a large number of them hadn't. Luna was captivated. The room had lost its ability to become what she needed, but here she had what thousands of witches and wizards had, at one time, needed. She spotted a pair of spectacles. Picking them up, she looked through their dusty lenses. Who had needed these, she wondered. How she wished they were spectrepecs instead of regular spectacles…

Setting the lenses down, she continued to peruse the piles. There was an odd number of chairs. And certainly too many brooms. She wondered if the Room recycled objects or simply conjured a new one every time that particular object was needed. If that was the case, the Room of Requirement was a bit of a hoarder. Not that that hadn't been obvious the moment she entered the room…

Luna was stricken. She couldn't decide if she liked the Room better this way or before it had been broken. It was certainly interesting to ponder why someone would need rusty daggers or a glass eye. Other strange objects she found were: one lonely mirror (which Luna speculated might be from a set of two-way mirrors), Skele-grow, Floo powder, a kettle, Omnioculars, and a copy of _The Monster Book of Monsters_.

She hadn't even explored the entire room. She couldn't see an end to it and had yet to encounter a wall. Perhaps it was endless? Luna marveled at the possibilities. The time was getting late, however, and it was most assuredly past curfew.

Silently and expertly, Luna navigated the corridors on the way back to Ravenclaw tower, successfully avoiding Filch and his cat. Unfortunately, she couldn't escape Peeves the Poltergeist. "HO HO! What have we got here? A student out of bed! Filchy Filch and his wretched cat would like this!" he called out so loudly that he startled Luna. She jumped and looked across at him floating just out of reach from the staircase she was climbing. "That's the second I've seen tonight, it is!"

"The second?" Luna asked curiously. She wasn't afraid of Peeves. He was a trouble maker, and could easily rat her out to Filch, but Luna thought quickly on her feet, humouring the Poltergeist. "Who was the first?"

"That Long Button kid. The one with the funny look on his face," he swooped closer to Luna, inspecting her as he spoke. Luna hoped no one else would hear him and come looking. "Looked down right DOWN IN THE DUMPS!" Luna cringed as he yelled the last part.

"Where did you see him last?" Luna asked politely, praying he would cooperate.

"WHY? What do you care about LONG FACE LONGBUM?" He became more ridiculous and floated past Luna, to the other side of the staircase, swooping and diving.

"You know," said Luna, "I think he's friends with Harry Potter. You know him don't you?"

"HARRY POTTY? Course I know him. Funny Bloke with a funny name!"

"Yes, well, I was out of bed thinking up a prank for Harry Potty, and I need to tell Longbottom, er Button. Could you tell me where he is?" Luna tried, her fingers crossed. She really wanted to see Neville tonight.

"A PRANK, huh? A righteous cause! Longbutton was in the west corridor on the third floor last time I saw him," Peeves's hollered as he drifted farther and farther from Luna, no doubt off to bother someone else.

"Thank you!" Luna called, leaning over the side of the railing. She sprinted up the rest of the stairs, hoping to catch Neville before he got to Gryffindor tower.

**How did you like it? You know, I went into th****is chapter thinking "What the h*ll am I going to write?" And then the ideas just started flowing. It's all very spontaneous for me. Of course I edit, though. What kind of a writer do you think I am? ;) Let me know what you think, Review! **


	5. Corridors After Dark

**This chapter was harder to write. JK Rowling never writes about Luna's relationship with her husband Newt Scamander. So, really, I have nothing to go on for the romance stuff. I'm hoping I didn't write her out of character, but I also feel like she would change as a result of a romantic relationship. Am I right? I mean, how am I supposed to write Luna flirting? We're not exactly into the flirting for this chapter, but I'd love some advice for future chapters! **

**Thanks for the reviews so far, and thanks also to my editors YourPrincess and HermioneGrangerisME. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters. I forgot the disclaimer in my last chapter, but it still applies.**

**Happy reading…**

**Chapter 5**

**Corridors After Dark**

Neville trudged along the corridor, his shoes scraping on the stone floor. It was late, past curfew. Of course, Snape had kept him until the last possible minute. Detention had been horrid. There were dirty cauldrons, alright. And plenty of them! Snape had handed Neville cleaning supplies and gloves and took his wand in return. No spells to get him through this detention. Then his least favourite professor had left him to listen to Slughorn talk endlessly about the tragedy of the Draught of Living Death, the subject of the essays he was marking. Snape had definitely smirked as he left. Spending time with Slughorn was apparently part of his punishment. Neville had never been happier to see his Defence Against the Dark Arts professor as when Snape had come to retrieve him.

Every fibre of him ached for his warm bed in Gryffindor Tower. Neville almost believed he could fall asleep on his way there…

"Neville!" the sound of his name startled him out of his sleepy state and his head snapped up. He knew that voice…

"Luna," Neville turned to greet her, shocked, yet pleased to see her. "Shouldn't you be in the Ravenclaw Tower?"

"Well, I was looking for you, and Peeves said… well, he said I could find you here." Luna finished and took a long breath. Neville noticed her face was flushed. From running. To find him?

"Yeah, stupid poltergeist harassed me as I was trying to get back from detention." Neville said with a look of distaste. The two fell into step beside each other. "Did you find someone else to help you?"

"Hmm?" Luna's eyes met Neville's, confused.

"You said you needed my help with something?"

"Oh right! Yes, I did get someone else to help me," she answered flustered as a blush rose to her cheeks at the lie. "How was detention?" she asked, taking on a note of sympathy.

"Oh, you know horrible. It was with Snape. So…Horrible."

"Harry never said _why_ you got detention."

Neville cleared his throat before answering, "I, uh, fell asleep in his class." Luna couldn't help but laugh.

"Sorry. That you're not sleeping well, I mean. That's why you fell asleep, right?"

"Actually, I've been staying up late. I was reading that book you recommended."

"Were you?" Luna asked excitedly, her eyes sparkling. Sure, she'd thrust all those book towards him. But she hadn't been sure that he'd actually read them.

"I believe it was _Unlikely Magical Beasts_. It was interesting." He said honestly.

"That's wonderful! I'm glad you like it." Luna was beaming now.

In truth, he found the book to be a bit odd. He was not convinced of the existence of half of the creatures described. But Neville found that strange magical creatures weren't all that different from magical plants. Reading the book had been much like reading his Herbology textbook.

The conversation stopped as the two realized they were standing in front of the portrait of the fat lady. Neville wasn't in a hurry to get to his bed anymore. "How about I walk you to Ravenclaw Tower?" Though it was located on the other side of the castle, Neville didn't mind the walk.

Luna smiled. "I'd like that."

They talked more about Luna's reading list on the way there. Talking to Luna was so effortless, Neville realized. She had interesting things to say. And she was honest. She wouldn't tell you something you wanted to hear if it wasn't the truth. That was one of the things Neville liked best about her. That, and the fact that she really seemed to care. She really was interested in what Neville had to say. If it was about Herbology or the weather, she always had time to listen.

Neville interrupted Luna when he heard footsteps. He put his arm out to stop her. "Shh. I hear someone."

"Filch?" Luna whispered.

"Maybe." The sound was coming from down the corridor. As they waited in silence, the glow of a lantern became steadily brighter from around the corner. Neville grabbed Luna's hand and turned, sprinting in the opposite direction. They dove into the nearest classroom, shutting the door softly. Crouching on his heals beneath the window of the door, Neville faced Luna.

Luna's heart raced and she stared into Neville's eyes, recognizing the panic there. It was silly, really. The most Filch could do was alert their heads of house. They would probably lose 50 points each, at the most, for being caught out of bed. But it was exciting, to be hiding in a classroom after hours. Luna had never done this kind of thing before. She suspected Neville hadn't either. Well, okay. There was the whole breaking into the ministry thing last year. But that had been a matter of life and death.

Neville braced his hands on the floor, keeping his balance. His eyes traced Luna's moonlit outline in the near dark. Her hair shone with a blue tint in this light and her eyes were rimmed with silver. She was pretty, he realized. He held his breath as the footsteps got closer. Then the soft padding of furry feet. It was Filtch, alright. And his bloody annoying cat, too.

Luna's eyes widened when she heard the cat stop as it approached the door. The feline dragged a clawed paw down the front of the door and let out a quiet meow. "Whatcha got there, love?" Luna and Neville heard him approach the door after the cat. The misty glow of the lantern filled the room as Filtch lifted it to the window to see into the classroom. Luna swore Filtch must have heard her beating heart. It sounded so loudly in her ears. As the caretaker found nothing amiss, the light slowly abated. "Come now, Mrs Norris."

Neville breathed a sigh of relief and saw Luna do the same. They waited while Filtch's footsteps faded, grinning all the while. "That was close," Luna whispered. They were only a foot away from each other.

"Very close," Neville agreed. Sitting on the floor of the classroom, they waited another five minutes to be sure the corridor would be clear. "I think we can leave now." But, even after he said it, neither made a move to rise from the floor.

After a few more seconds of silence Luna whispered, "Yes, I really should be getting to bed now."

They slowed as they approached the entrance to Ravenclaw tower. Luna took a few steps until she was standing in front of Neville, facing him.

"Thanks, Neville. You're a great person to talk to."

Neville blushed slightly and stammered, "uh, no trouble." He scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

"Goodnight," Luna said cheerfully. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow, Luna," Neville said, smiling.

The door to the dormitories creaked open as Luna pushed it and entered. She flopped down onto her bed and let out a sigh. It was lucky she had caught up with Neville. She was glad she had gotten to talk to him tonight. Yes, they could have talked the next day, at breakfast perhaps. But Luna sensed it wouldn't have been the same. Neville seemed more ready to be himself when he and Luna were alone. Did that mean he trusted her? She liked that idea.

Oh! She had forgotten to tell him about her encounter with the Room of Requirement! Bullocks! Her encounter with Peeves and then the excitement of meeting Neville had pushed that to the back of her mind. She would have to tell him another time.

Yawning, she got off her bed to change into her bed clothes. Nestling into the warm blankets, she silently wished for dreams of Hippogriffs.

The next morning at breakfast, Luna sat at the Ravenclaw table drinking pumpkin juice and reading the Daily Prophet. Really, it was all rubbish. Still, she felt she ought to be informed on exactly what kind of rubbish the ministry was spouting. She looked up when she saw Neville enter the Great Hall. She watched him walk to the Gryffindor table, wondering if he would turn to look at her. He sat down, and sure enough, his eyes scanned the Ravenclaw table. Spotting her, Neville smiled and waved. She smiled back. After a moment he looked away to pour a glass of pumpkin juice for himself. Luna watched as he chatted with Seamus Finnigan. There was a strange feeling in her chest. Her heart had leapt when he waved to her. It was such a small gesture, but it meant a lot to Luna. It made her feel like she belonged.

Neville was having a hard time concentrating on his conversation with Seamus. The other Gryffindor was telling him a story of an explosion in Potions the other day. Neville wondered if the cauldrons he cleaned yesterday had been involved… It certainly looked like it. After that, he had only nodded as Seamus continued to tell the tale with expressive hand gestures.

Neville was considering the look he had seen on Luna's face. He wasn't really sure what had crossed her face. Her eyes had softened. And she looked almost… grateful. Neville pondered Luna's reaction for the rest of the morning. He had never considered how deeply his actions could affect others.

That afternoon, Luna was once again sitting in the astronomy tower. The sun inched closer to the western horizon, creating long shadows across the grounds. She liked to watch the sun set in autumn. It was her favourite season. She loved the crunch of dried leaves under her feet. Hogwarts was truly beautiful in autumn. The grounds were littered with leaves pulled from their branches. And the colours! Crimson and yellow painted the entire school. If she took a brush and painted it herself, she could not have made it more beautiful. Never were the trees so many colours at once. She even loved the brown of everything. Like the colour of a chocolate gateau baked just right, or the thick brown of the mud-covered grounds after a rain storm.

She had not gone down to dinner yet. The great hall would be filled with students now, but she was content to stay and watch the sun set. She leaned her head against the glass, the warmth of the sun heating her skin. She wished she could pause this moment and keep it forever.

Footsteps startled her out of her reverie. "Oh, Luna", Neville looked surprised to see her there. "You're not coming down for dinner?"

"I'm not very hungry." She replied. Then silence. Neville seemed embarrassed. "Did you come to get something?"

Remembering why he came, Neville said, "Oh, right. Left my books here." Luna watched as he crossed the room to retrieve his book bag. Why was his book bag in the astronomy tower? Luna didn't think that Neville was taking Astronomy this year.

"Neville, do you come here often?" Luna asked suddenly. Neville stopped as he was about to pick up the bag. He straightened and turned to look at Luna.

Scratching the back of his head in a nervous kind of way, he responded, "Well… kind of. Yeah, I guess I do. It's just a nice place to think."

"I think so too," Luna said smiling. "I love this view," she said indicating the landscape below. Neville walked to the window seat where she sat.

"It is beautiful," he said looking out at the grounds. There was a comfortable silence as they both took in the sight of the last rays of sunlight filter across the grass.

Neville broke the silence a minute later. "I was going to head down to the library to finish some homework, but… is it alright, I mean… do you mind if I hang out here?"

"I'd like that, actually," Luna said, keeping eye contact. She slid over on the seat to make room and pulled out her own books as well. "I've got some things to finish too."

Neville smiled. A glow from the fading sun lit Luna's hair. It would make a good photo, he realized. Luna and the setting sun behind her. He realized that he was staring and picked up his books again.

Neville finally settled down on the window seat. Luna looked up from her book and gave him a small smile. She was glad he had stayed.

**Thanks for reading! Please review, tell me what you think. Till next time! **


	6. The Room of Requirement

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

**Chapter six**

**The Room of Requirement**

Luna was hastily scribbling the last of her potions homework onto parchment. The sun had set behind the trees and only an orange glow backlit the forbidden forest. Neville and Luna had been working in silence for a good hour. Neville finally snapped his book closed. "I can't read anymore," he sighed. Luna looked up from her work.

"I've been meaning to tell you something," Luna told him.

Neville turned to face Luna properly, interested in what she was about to say. He watched as her eyes got a far-away look as she began to speak. "I was walking through the corridors yesterday, and the strangest thing happened to me. It was near where we used to meet for the DA." She looked at him then, and gave him a meaningful look.

"The Room of Requirement?" He asked, slightly surprised. She nodded excitedly. "And you went inside? I mean, it opened to you?"

"Yes! I didn't think it would open at all after Umbridge…" Neville nodded in agreement. He hadn't thought the room would appear after that hag had discovered it. None of the members of the DA had returned after that.

"What happened? How did it appear to you?" Neville asked excitedly.

"Well, the magic has been broken. It can't become anything anymore. It was a large room, with a huge arching ceiling. I didn't make it to the back wall though. It was too far." Luna extended her hands to demonstrate. "It was filled with objects. Just piles and piles of things."

"All of the objects the room had ever conjured up…" Neville trailed off.

"Yes, exactly." There was a silence as Neville wondered what that would be like. How it would look. Recognizing the look on his face, Luna asked, "Do you want to see it?"

A quarter of an hour later, Luna and Neville were pacing the halls in front of the Room of Requirement. "Are you sure this is the right place?" Neville asked.

"Of course. I was here only yesterday." But they had walked back and forth through the corridor three times now.

"It was never this hard when we met for the DA. Were you thinking of anything specific when you walked by?"

"I was reading a book," Luna said, thinking of _Identifying Auras._ She pulled it from her book bag and looked at Neville.

He took a look at the book and shrugged, "Okay… maybe it was a fluke?" Luna sighed and leaned against a pillar behind her. Neville ran his hand through his hair, disappointed.

A scraping sound had Luna snapping her head up. "I told you!" she said brightly. Neville looked up, pleased. They stepped towards the doors as they began to appear from the stone wall. Neville grinned at Luna. It was brilliant. When the doors were fully formed, the two stepped through and were swallowed by the magic of the Room of Requirement.

"Wow," was all that Neville could say. It was truly amazing. He had never seen anything like it.

"Isn't it great?" Luna exclaimed, truly happy. The room loomed before them, secrets and treasures waiting to be uncovered.

Neville was captivated. There so many objects. There were objects he recognized and others that made him wonder what they could be used for. The two lost track of time as they looked through items. Luna held up a dragon skin coat. "What do you suppose this was needed for?"

"Maybe…there was a bloke once," Neville said creating a story. "He… fancied this girl. And he wanted to impress her. One day, he was walking past the Room of Requirement, wishing he had a dragon skin coat to impress her." Neville said and shrugged. Luna had been listening aptly and broke out in laughter when he finished.

"Was the girl impressed, do you think?"

"Of course," he said smiling, "She loved a man in dragon skin." This time Neville couldn't keep a straight face and joined Luna when she began to laugh again. After that, they began creating stories for all of the really strange objects they found.

After finding two cushions that had been used by the DA, Neville and Luna lounged on the floor, items scattered around them. When they had run out of stories to tell, Luna wondered, "Do you think a summoning charm would work?"

"You mean: 'Accio… Floo powder!'" Neville said the first thing that came to his mind. They waited a few moments. There was a rustling in the distance and suddenly a jar of powder was dodging around piles to get to them. Neville took it in his hand when it was within reach.

"_That's_ brilliant!" He said, grinning at Luna.

They had ten minutes to spare before curfew when Luna and Neville finally left the Room of Requirement. Standing at its exit, Neville stopped Luna. "Wait." She looked up at him. "Don't… tell anyone, about the room, I mean. It can be our place." There were others that knew of the existence of the Room of Requirement, the entire DA, for example. But after Umbridge's reign, Neville suspected it was forgotten. Others assumed it was useless now, as he had. In a way it was, as it no longer served its prior purpose. But in losing that magic, it had gained so much more. He wanted this to be something he shared with Luna. Only Luna. He could tell she understood what he meant. She appreciated the specialty of the room, just like he did.

"Alright. Our secret." When the coast was clear, they exited, Luna heading left to Ravenclaw and Neville, right to Gryffindor.

As the school year progressed and the autumn days became cooler, Luna and Neville visited the Room of Requirement frequently. They began to leave items there, in a spot they had created. Luna had collected what cushions she could find and spread them across the floor between two towering piles of objects. Neville had found a chest inscribed with all four Hogwarts House names. It was old and worn down at the corners, yet the wood was solid with a deep cherry finish. While standing, the chest came even with Luna's knees and was about as wide as her arm span. A sturdy lock clasped the lid shut, slightly rusted with a small key hole. Luna had tried charms such as "alohomora" but had been unsuccessful in opening it. They were both intrigued by it. What might it contain? Luna suspected it might have something to do with the founders. She was excited by the idea that it might contain the personal effects of the founders themselves. The challenge of opening it was one Luna and Neville had accepted, thus the chest had earned its presence in their spot, nestled between the cushions.

Other objects that scattered the area included: parchment, quills and ink, a stack of books from Luna's reading list, and Luna's new pair of spectrepecs. Occasionally Neville left behind his sweater vest, and Luna almost always left a text book or two, along with some unfinished homework. The Room of Requirement had become their common room, of sorts.

In fashion with a secret common room, Luna believed that there was a need for a code for the Room of Requirement. A word or phrase they could use when they wanted to meet there. What would be the most fun?

Luna carried a hard cover bound book as she walked past the Gryffindor table one morning. It had been cold when she got out of bed that morning. She had put on her warmest sweater and pulled on her woolly knee socks with her pleated skirt. And a good thing she had, too. As she took a glance out the window in the great hall, she noticed snow flakes falling. Winter was around the corner.

She stopped when she spotted Neville. "Hello, Neville," she said smiling. She recognized the look in his eye when she handed him the book in her arms. He knew what he would find inside. "Here's the book I was talking about. I hope you like it."

Catching on, Neville quickly responded, "Right, thanks Luna." As she walked away, he opened the book in his lap. Inside the front cover was a laundry tag for one dragon skin jacket. On the first page was Luna's script.

Last night I met a dragon,

His scales, they needed washing.

I said, "I'll being a flagon."

Full of soap, it will be sloshing.

I'll meet him at his nest,

At half past two, I'll be his guest.

A poem. She wanted to meet in the Room of Requirement. Typical Luna style. Neville chuckled as he closed the book. He was going to have to check out a poetry book if she expected him to communicate back to her in the same fashion.

Sitting in the Room of Requirement, Luna held the Quibbler in her lap. Neville hadn't arrived yet. She fiddled in her pocket, trying to find her spectrespecs. She had just settled them on her nose when she heard someone enter. She waited for Neville to come around the corner. She flipped the page of the magazine and continued reading. She had read a paragraph before she realized there were no footsteps. Neville wasn't that sloothy. Quietly, she folded the Quibbler closed and pushed her specrespecs so they rested on the top of her head. She held her breath and listened closely. Suddenly there was a movement, like the shuffling of parchment. Slowly, she rose from the cushion on the floor and noiselessly crouched behind a towering pile of newspapers. Luna peered between the piles to get a look at the entrance.

Draco Malfoy stood just in front of the doors. No wonder she hadn't heard footsteps, he hadn't moved except to enter the room. In his hands was a sheaf of parchment which obscured Luna's view of his face. Yet that platinum blonde hair was unmistakable. What was he doing here? She worried Neville would walk in at any moment.

She continued to watch Malfoy, curious. Finally he looked up and clenched the parchment in his left hand. He still hadn't moved from his place. Luna guessed he was seeing the Room of Requirement for the first time since it had become a resting place for objects. The scuffle of his shoes resounded through the room as he started making his way through the piles. He disappeared behind a pile of stacked chairs, but promptly reappeared on the other side. He appeared to be looking for something, as he consulted the papers in his hand several times before he stopped.

Luna shuffled to get a better view. As she did, the toe of her sneaker slid on the floor and collided with the base of a stack of newspapers. No, no, no. The newspapers swayed dangerously, threatening to tip over. Malfoy's head jerked up at the sound, his eyes traveling to find the source of the noise. A few newspapers from the top of the pile slid off, unbalancing the rest. The whole tower came cascading down, scattering the floor with the Daily Prophet. Luna panicked, ducking her head and making her self as small as possible behind the newspapers. There was silence. Luna didn't dare look up. She was confident she was completely hidden from view… as long as Draco didn't venture closer.

Footsteps, slow and steady approached her hiding spot. No! Luna's was heart was racing like the night her and Neville had almost been caught by Filch. Yet she suspected the consequences of being discovered by Draco would be far more severe. She would never find out what he was up to. Because he was up to _something_.

Suddenly a noise like a bird's chirp resounded throughout the room. Draco swore louadly and reached into his pocket. Luna dared to peek between the stacks again, and found Draco only feet from discovering her. He held in his hand a pocket watch, which seemed to be the source of the noise. He clicked the top and shoved it back into his pocket. Whatever it meant, Luna was grateful, as Draco's attention was once again concentrated on finding what he came here to find. He retreated to the place he had been standing before Luna's distraction, casting one last suspicious glace over his shoulder.

Malfoy approached a cabinet that rose above his head. The shape of the cabinet was peculiar; the top peaked in a triangular shape and Luna wondered what kind of cabinet it could be. Why was Draco interested in it?

He lifted a hand and grasped the fabric, tugging it away. The sheet fell away to reveal the front of the cabinet. The dark wood finish was damaged; scratched and peeling paint made up most of its surface. Still… it had this look about it. It was imposing, but also alluring, and Luna found herself examining every part of it. The entire cabinet was shaped as a triangular prism standing vertically. One of its points created the meeting point of two doors. One was slightly ajar, yet Luna could only make out darkness from within. Two shapes like crescent moons decorated each door, one at the top and one at the bottom. Two slim, dark handles adorned the front as well.

Draco slipped his pale hand over the handle of the open door and pulled it back. Nothing was inside. The surface was dusty, yet the cabinet was clearly empty. This seemed to trouble Malfoy. He looked… angry? Why? What was he expecting to find? So many questions spun around in Luna's mind.

Malfoy dragged his fingers through his hair. Luna watched as he let out a huff of frustration. He clenched the parchment tighter in his hand then turned back the way he came. Luna waited until his footsteps faded. There was the sound of the doors opening and then nothing. Utter silence. Luna was still crouched on the floor, dumbfounded. What did all this mean?

She was still thinking about it when Neville startled her out of her reverie.

"Sorry I'm late. I lost track of time…" Neville trailed off as he realized Luna appeared to be hiding behind a stack of newspapers.

Luna jumped at his words; she hadn't heard him enter. "Neville!"

"What are you…?"

"The strangest thing just happened," she said, slightly dazed.

"Are you…alright?"

Luna explained what she saw with Malfoy and the strange cabinet. "He seemed like he was looking specifically for that one thing. What would Malfoy want with a cabinet in the Room of Requirement?" Luna finished account and proceeded to stare off into the distance, lost in thought.

"Which cabinet was it?" Neville asked.

"Oh, right over here," she said, motioning for him to follow. She led him past the newspapers to the cabinet. The sheet lay discarded on the floor, moth eaten and musty. Neville examined the cabinet, tracing the crescent shapes on the doors with his hand. Luna pulled open one of the doors and peeked inside. There was nothing inside that she hadn't seen from her hiding place. Crouching, she ran her finger through the dust on the floor of the antique. "It obviously hasn't been used in a long time. Why would Malfoy suddenly be interested in it?"

"I don't know, but I don't like the idea of a Sytherin sneaking around the Room of Requirement," Neville said with distaste. Draco Malfoy was as sneaky as they come. Slytherins, that is. And it was no wonder, when he had a father like Lucius Malfoy.

"Do you know what this means?" Luna asked.

"The Room of Requirement is not out secret," Neville answered. Of course, leave it to Malfoy to ruin things, Neville thought bitterly. Though he was angry that their place had been compromised, in the back of his mind a worry was growing. Neville had never trusted Malfoy, but after today, he would be extra cautious. He and Luna would have to find out what he was up to. Because there was no way this was going to turn out well.

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